Diving In!...To What?
by Ark9
Summary: Ash has finally become pokemon master, but what is he going to do now? (...besides being around Misty. ^-^) Obviously AAML. And what exactly will Ash be diving into? Enjoy! ^-^ (...and review!)
1. New, Hidden, Territory

I don't own pokémon __

I don't own pokémon! Nintendo, Kids WB, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc, do. All I own here is the plot for my fics and the characters for Lupusa, Casey, and Michelle, though, how can you own people? Oh, well…they're mine here.

This is the sequel to "[_Friends to the End_][1]_." (ß Click on the title to read it if you haven't already.) Hope you like it! Thanks for the support on it! Especially A*MON. You've kept up with all of my fics! (Oh, and I'm not insane, A*MON…all of the time, anyway. ^_~)_

Diving In! …To What?

By Ark9

Chapter One

New, Hidden Territory

Ash looked down at Misty, who was still curled up in his lap. He smiled and then looked over to where Pikachu was laying the night before, but was surprised to find that Pikachu wasn't there.

He shook Misty awake, shouting, "I can't find Pikachu!" He was almost hysterical. That is why he was really shocked when a familiar dizziness suddenly hit his body.

Misty coughed out a black cloud of smoke. "I think that we found him," she stated, bluntly. "What a way to wake up."

"Eh, heh, heh…" Ash laughed nervously. "What were you doing on my head, Pikachu? You aren't a hat! …and you aren't a ditto to transform into one, either!"

Pikachu gave him a quizzical look before replying, "Pikachu chu pika." I like it up there. Then it hopped down and frowned. "Pikapi chuka pi pi chu!" You didn't mind before!

This time Misty broke out laughing. "That is ridiculous! Pikachu is always riding on top of your head, Ash," she continued to laugh.

Ash got a hurt look on his face. "Yeah. Right." He walked out of the cave.

"Wonder what's up with him?" Misty questioned, her smile disappearing from her face.

"Pikachu." I don't know. Pikachu shook his head.

Ash walked a few steps before realizing how stupid he had been. He chuckled under his breath. Silently he let out Charizard and Blastoise.

He looked at Blastoise and pointed to the top of the cave. Then he held up his hand to wait. He got on Charizard's back and whispered its directions in its ear.

He usual smirk was planted on his face as he turned to Blastoise and gave it a thumbs-up.

Blastoise fired its cannons at the top of the cave and Charizard flapped its winds, creating enough wind to freeze the water into a wall. Ash recalled Blastoise and sure enough, Starmie and Staryu came crashing through the ice a few seconds later along with an outraged Misty. Pikachu's laughter could be heard echoing around the cave.

Charizard flew up into the air with Ash still on his back. It flew around in circles, enjoying the attention.

"That was cheap, Ash!" Misty shouted from the ground. "Staryu! Starmie! Team water gun!"

"Ba!" Charizard snorted.

"Haiyaaaa!" Staryu and Starmie chorused and sent out water at Charizard, who continued its loops around the attacks.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh!" Misty shouted in agitation.

"Saiya?" Staryu asked.

"Yee!" Starmie agreed.

Charizard cocked his head to the side and blinked. It made another turn and then lost sight of them.

"Charizard, watch out!" Ash shouted in his ear and tightened his grip on Charizard's neck.

"Sai!" they cried and spun into Charizard's body from opposite sides, pinning its wings against its body.

"Zzzzzoooooooorrrrrrrrr!" Charizard howled as it was forcefully brought down to the ground.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Ash yelled, his eyes growing wide. He tumbled to the side after Charizard hit the ground.

"Yaa!"

"Yee!"

"Great job!" Misty exclaimed. "Staryu! Starmie! Return! I'm going to get you, Ash Ketchum!"

Pikachu walked out of the cave to see what exactly was going on, just in time to see the red light of Staryu and Starmie disappear into their pokéballs and Misty charge towards where Ash had fallen beside Charizard. That brought out more giggles from Pikachu, who immediately started rolling on its back in a laughing fit.

Misty, on the other hand, was _far_ from laughing. Ash started to pick himself up off of the ground when he looked up and saw Misty.

Did I say his eyes were wide open before? Now they were completely bugged out as he hurriedly tried to run away. However, it was too late as Misty tackled him after a few steps. They rolled a few feet before Misty pinned Ash's shoulders to the ground.

"What do you have to say for yourself, mister?" Misty asked viciously, still breathing hard from before.

Ash grinned. "Absolutely nothing," he said.

Suddenly Misty realized what position he had caused them to land in. She was slightly relieved when her breathing started to even out.

Ash leaned up and gave her a peck on her nose. He smiled even bigger at her startled face.

Misty wrinkled her nose and actually smiled. "Ooooo! Now why can't I get mad at you when you do that?" She rolled her eyes. "You little trickster," she sighed and laid her head down on his chest.

"How long do you think it will take Pikachu to find us out here?" Ash asked slyly. A few seconds of silence passed until…

"Pppiiii-kaaaaa!" Pikachu called.

"Is that your answer?" Misty asked quietly.

"Sh! Not yet…" he replied in a stressed whisper.

Pikachu shouted again a few feet to the side of them, surprised them. Misty shook and was about to scream when Ash quickly covered her mouth.

Pikachu's steps could be heard going away and then stopped. There was a barely audible "chu" of it sighing and then returning. "Pit, pat, pit, pat," the leaves on the ground seemed to whisper.

"Pika!" it shouted excitedly and then started to run up to Ash. Suddenly it stopped and double blinked.

Ash uncovered Misty's mouth and she smiled. "Now is _that_ your answer, Ash?" she laughed and looked up at Ash.

"Yep!" he grinned. "What's the surprised look for, Pikachu?"

Pikachu blinked again and raised its paws and rubbed its eyes. It kept its paws against its cheeks and stared, unbelieving.

Misty sat up and Ash raised himself up on one elbow.

"Oh, come on, Pikachu," Ash said. "You can even be my hat if you want!" he joked.

"Pi?" it asked quietly as it climbed onto his head.

But its question had to be left unexplained and unanswered as a crackling sound announced Charizard's arrival.

"Zzzzzooooorrrrrrrr!" it cried, flamethrowering lots of trees around them, melting the snow as well. Suddenly it swooped down and grabbed Ash and Misty in its small arms.

"Help!" Misty squealed.

Ash wriggled his arms around her. "It's okay," he whispered. "Are you all right, Pikachu?" he asked.

"Pikachu!" it smiled.

Charizard broke out of the cluster of remaining trees and shot a fireball-like attack of ember at the frozen-over ground. It burned through the foot or so of ice and turned into smoke at the metal circle.

Suddenly the metal was hurled aside and an ice beam shot out. Soon the slowbro climbed out along with its trainer, Elite Four member, Lorelei. The purple-haired trainer stood up, smoothed down her navy dress, and then pointed to Charizard, who was flying overhead.

Slowbro sat down and looked up. Its eyes and paws glowed bright blue, causing Charizard to freeze where it was in the air and then lowered it to the ground. Then it let go of its psychic hold on them.

Ash and Misty fell down on their stomachs, Pikachu rolled off of Ash's head, and Charizard caught himself by stamping its foot on the ground. Lorelei and Slowbro stood, unmoved, while the others picked themselves up.

"Whoa!" Ash breathed out.

"Prima!" Misty exclaimed excitedly.

"Cha?" Who? Pikachu asked softly.

"Hm. Some know me as Prima, but my real name is Lorelei. You may know me and the water and ice trainer, Prima," she said, pointing to Misty, "while I have a feeling that you would know me as Elite Four member, Lorelei," she continued and pointed to Ash.

"Ba!" Charizard snorted, flames seeming to appear in its eyes as it recognized the Slowbro from a long time ago.

"Elite Four…Lorelei," Ash looked at her as if he was trying to remember something. "I remember now!" he shouted excitedly. "I wanted to re-challenge you!"

She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"No? Why not?" Ash asked, clearly disappointed.

"Now that I have resumed my post as on Elite Four member, you have to go through the regular steps before you can challenge me," she said.

"What does that mean?" Ash whined.

"It means that you must go and conquer the four areas of the world," she said, a globe hologram appearing in her hand. "The Pokémon Leagues in Kanto, Johto, and the Orange Islands," she continued, the areas lighting up in turn, "as well as the Cloyster Challenge." An area slightly south of the Orange Islands lit up.

"Hey, that's where I was training before the Pokémon League!" Ash interrupted. Everyone glared at him and he blushed and sweat-dropped. "Oops. Sorry. Go on…" he said in embarrassment.

"After you win in those leagues, you must find all four of us Elite Four members. Your pokédex will give you maps to help you to find us after you win. Can I see your pokédex?" she asked and held out her hand.

"Uh…sure," Ash replied and took it out of his handy pouch and handed to her. "What do you want to do with it?"

"I'm checking your progress. So…you've found Bruno and I. Without maps? That's not supposed to work. I thought we were hidden pretty well…oh, well…and you've beaten the Orange League, Johto League, and the Kanto League as of two days ago…Congratulations!…so…yeah…" she looked up and smiled. "It looks like we may have a challenger soon!"

His eyes lit up. "Really? You think so? What do I have to do after I find all of you?" he asked.

Lorelei started to get excited. "You simply take this to the Pokémon League Headquarters and have it scanned. They will send League kadabras to get all four of us. Then, you will have to battle all four of us in a row. Don't worry. I'll let you battle me first!" she laughed.

"All right!" he exclaimed, bringing his clenched fists towards himself and looked to both of his sides. "Are you guys with me?" he shouted.

"Pika!" it smiled and flashed a peace sign.

"Zzoorrrr!" Charizard roared, sending flames through the air.

"I guess," Misty said, unemotionally.

"Misty!" Ash shouted.

"You know I'll come," she smirked and elbowed him in his ribs.

"Hey! Watch it!" he laughed.

Lorelei smiled at the two, while Pikachu sighed and Charizard rolled his eyes. "Good luck, Ash!" she said. "I'll be waiting!"

"You got it!" he yelled and turned around. "Come on!" He jumped on Charizard's back, Pikachu climbing up on his shoulder again.

Misty shook her head. "I guess he did get a girlfriend to follow him around _where_ he wants, _when_ he wants to go, didn't he?" she laughed. "We'll be back! If I know Ash at all…" she giggled.

"Bye!" Lorelei waved as they flew away in the bright sunlight, as it was a little after noon. She and Slowbro returned to their training area and living quarters underground.

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=262266



	2. Seafoam Islands A Pit Stop

I don't own pokémon __

I don't own pokémon! Nintendo, Kids WB, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc, do. All I own here is the plot for my fics and the characters for Lupusa, Casey, and Michelle, though, how can you own people? Oh, well…they're mine here.

Chapter two is here! It's not disappointing, I hope…

Diving In! …To What?

By Ark9

Chapter Two

Seafoam Islands; A Pit Stop

Misty held on tight to Ash's waist to keep from falling off. She rested her chin on his back and let her breath cascade off of his neck.

Ash laughed as he felt goosebumps raise themselves along his neck, arms, and face. "Stop it, Misty! That tickles!" he said.

She moved her chin onto his left shoulder since Pikachu was still sitting on his right one. "Better, Ash?" she giggled.

He turned his head and ruffled her hair. "Yep! Thanks."

"Hey!" she shouted, pushing his hand off of her head.

He laughed and then saw a small mountainous island below. "I think that we should take a break. It's almost sunset. Besides, Charizard needs a break."

"Hey, isn't this the entrance to the Seafoam Islands?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, now that you brought it up. This league, I started it before. The next gym is water, so I thought that I could help Pikachu train here so that it can just wipe out their pokémon."

"Pretty confident, aren't you?" Misty asked slyly.

Charizard landed on one of the rocks and crouched down to let them off. Ash jumped off and Pikachu ran around, stretching out its legs. Ash turned around and lifted Misty off Charizard's back.

"It's a progressive league like the Pokémon League. No way am I going to loose to the second gym. Especially not a _water_ gym," he said.

Misty slapped him for the last comment. "That's for insulting my gym," she said hotly and glared at him.

"Owww…" Ash moaned, rubbing his head. "I wasn't talking about your gym. The second badge is the Lagoon Badge. It is from _their_ water gym. Sheesh!"

"Oh, sorry," Misty said in embarrassment. "Here, let me kiss it and make it all better," she suggested, chasing after him.

"It's perfectly all right!" he yelled over his should as he dashed over the rocky landscape.

"Baaaaazzzzzzzoooooorrrrrrrr…!" Charizard bellowed, firespinning them both so that they stopped running.

"Pikachu!" Thank you! Pikachu shouted to Charizard, as it was about ready to shock them itself. Charizard gave him a thumbs-up as Ash and Misty walked back with charred skin.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Charizard," Ash said, dejectedly, causing Charizard's eyebrows to wrinkle before he lit a fire to make up for it.

"Cha!" Yea! Pikachu chirped excitedly, holding out its paws out to the fire.

Ash crawled over to the fire and smiled. He sat against Charizard, who was now laying down in a semi-curled position.

Charizard opened an eye and looked at Ash. Then he closed it again. Ash had his respect. He would allow it.

"Chu…" Pikachu cooed. It jumped into Ash's lap and put its paws against his chest. "Pikachu?" What about me? it asked sadly. "Pikachupi?" Aren't I your friend anymore?

Ash frowned and Charizard woke to full-consciousness. Misty didn't quite understand the question, but know that it had to be a meaningful one, especially because _Charizard_ even bothered to listen.

"Of course you are, Pikachu," Ash half-smiled to see if it was joking and then rubbed its head between its ears.

"Cha!" it cried happily.

Then he lowered his voice to a whisper so that Charizard couldn't hear. "You'll always be my best pokémon. Who else sticks around with me, even when they don't want to?"

"Pika?" Really? it asked with sparkling eyes. Glistening with hope.

"Yeah. Besides, someone need to shock some sense into me every once in a while, huh?" he added.

Pikachu rolled his eyes at Ash's joke and then nodded with a happy, "Pi-_ka-_chu!"

Pikachu turned around and Ash cuddled it against himself, both laughing in happiness.

Misty was confused about the secretism, but by the look Ash gave Charizard before he started to whisper, it was meant for Charizard, not for her.

She walked over to where the others were on the opposite side of the fire. She pretended to frown. "I'm jealous, Ash," she said stubbornly.

Ash smiled to Pikachu and then back to Misty. "Oh? Better come over here, then," he laughed and held out his arm.

Misty snuggled up by Ash's side against Charizard and petted Pikachu's ear. Ash put his arm around her.

"Honestly! Pikachu was jealous of you!" Ash laughed.

"Is that so?" Misty asked and tickled Pikachu.

"Cha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Pikachu giggled.

Charizard opened an eye to look at the happy, laughing creatures, fed up with the noise.

"Zzzzzzaaaaaaarrrrrrr!" Charizard roared, embering them to a dry black color.

Pikachu glared at Charizard, who smirked and closed his eyes, laying his head back on his paws. Ash grabbed Pikachu, stopping it from using its electricity on Charizard. Misty blinked and then tried to hide behind Ash in case it tried to burn them again.

Annoyed, Pikachu curled up in Ash's lap. Ash smiled at Pikachu and Misty. Misty cautiously sat back up and leaned against Ash, looking up to see if he expected Charizard to burn them once more, but found him smiling down at her, instead.

He squeezed her against himself gently and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Misty," he whispered, and rested his head on top of hers.

"I love you, too," she whispered with a slight trace of a giggle.

They rested there, watching the fire start to die down, unaware of the drowsiness that was inevitably starting to come over them.

*************

Ash rubbed his eyes and squinted into the early morning light that had woken him up. He sat up and looked around.

*Where's Misty?* he wondered before picking up Pikachu and putting it on Charizard's back in between its wings so that it would stay warm and not fall off of Charizard's smooth back.

Then he ran around the entrance to the cave to see if Misty was there before he went wondering around in the dark.

He walked, or rather climbed, around the cave, jumping from one rock to another, watching to make sure the rocks that he was using were stable.

"One, two, three. Looks fine to me," he repeated over and over to himself as he tried to convince himself that this wasn't attempting suicide to trust the rocks. Once, he jumped and the rock he was jumping from slid, causing him to loose his balance.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!" he screamed as he rolled sideways down the rocks, finally ripping apart his gloves as he gripped a sturdy rock to stop his descent.

"Ppppssssskkk!" A few water-drops fell on him. He pulled himself up into a sitting position on the rocks, heart pounding, and turned around to see what was at the base of this cave.

He smirked as he saw the pool of water behind him. Well, the Seafoam Islands were islands, weren't they? The water was dark, obviously deep, and unsettled. No pokemon were there, but a few seconds later, he saw and few bubbles surface. Then Misty came up and swam to the edge in front of him. She grabbed his wrists and pulled him over to the water.

"Come on!" she pleaded excitedly.

"Nah," he pulled away and held up his palms to her. "It'll hurt," he whined.

She looked at the scratched and stuck out her lip mockingly. "Poor thing," she sneered and pulled his hands under the water.

"Yyyeeeeeeoooowwwwww!!" he shouted, desperately biting his lip, trying to hold in tears from his stinging hands. "What was that for?"

"It'll help them heal faster," she replied and pulled them out of the water, examining the cuts with sympathy returning to her voice. "At least it won't hurt now if you want to swim," she said. "Please?"

He scowled at her and whipped his hands away, shaking them to try to stop the burning feeling. "No way!" he squealed. "Gosh, why'd you have to do that?"

"'Cause I love ya!" she sparked and pulled him by his shoulders so that she could whisper in his ear, "and I care whether you get infected or not."

Ash was puzzled as to how to reply to that. He finally understood and was glad to find that his hands were not stinging as bad and the skin was starting to feel tight.

Misty smiled at his confused face and took the opportunity to bring him to the top of the cave, where it overlooked the small pool of water.

"Dive off!" Misty encouraged.

"Dive? I can't dive!" he exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Sure you can!" Misty yelled and pushed him off as he looked over the egde of the ledge.

"I'll gggggeeeeettttttt yyyyooooooouuuu ffffoooooorrrrrrr tttthhhhhhiiiissssss!" he wailed as he watched the water coming closer. Suddenly, he realized that he was going to belly-flop if he didn't do something. Frantically, he curled his feet together in front of him and pulled his arms to his feet, ducking his head under his arms and closing his eyes tight.

"Wwhhhoooooosshh!" He flipped around forward, surprised to find that only his hands hurt from the impact. He opened his eyes and swam to the top. Once there, he gasped for a breath and looked in front of him. A small splash made him realize that Misty had dove in after him.

She surfaced and swam over to Ash. "Maybe I should _teach_ you how to dive, then," she smirked.

"No, no! That's okay! I've done enough damage to my hands today!" He waved his hands in front of his face. Now only his wrists were covered by the sliced and dripping cloth.

"Fine, then. Pikachu and Charizard are probably awake and wondering where we are, anyway." She climbed out of the water and sighed at her dripping clothes.

Ash scrambled onto a nearby rock. "Is there any other way to get back?" he asked woriedly.

"Other than rocks? No, this whole island is made of rocks and water. However, there _is_ an easier way than how you came," she replied, leading him up to the ledge again, jumping from rock to rock.

"Not again! I'm not going off again!" he screamed.

"You are such a big baby!" she taunted. "We aren't jumping off of it. We are just going to walk along the top and climb down the other side because the rocks over there aren't loose," she explained.

"Oh!" he smiled.

They walked the rest of the way up the cliff and to the opposite edge without saying anything.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Misty asked suddenly.

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked curiously.

"The ocean!" Misty said quickly. Isn't it just so…romantic?" He eyes sparkled at the sight.

Ash laughed quietly. "If you say so, Misty," he replied.

Misty sighed. "You'll never understand, will you?"

"Guess not," he frowned. "It's just water."

She looked at the water with the sun turning it different colors and making it glitter everywhere. How could he not see that?

Misty walked down the side with Ash following behind her. Ash still puzzling over what there was in the water that he didn't understand.

Ash's face brightened when he saw Pikachu and Charizard, cheeks pressed against each other—Pikachu's sparking—obviously arguing about something. "Hey guys! I'm back!"

"Pika!" Pikachu ran towards Ash, letting Charizard fall on his face.

"Hey, buddy!" Ash shouted as Pikachu jumped up into his arms. "Ready to get a badge?"

"Chu!" it yelled excitedly.

"Aw…I like this place," Misty complained.

"Well, the sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back," Ash smirked.

"I suppose," she answered, looking back longingly.


	3. Are we there, yet?

I don't own pokémon __

I don't own pokémon! Nintendo, Kids WB, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc, do. All I own here is the plot for my fics and the characters for Lupusa, Casey, and Michelle, though, how can you own people? Oh, well…they're mine here.

This has a plot! I swear…

Diving In! …To What?

By Ark9

Chapter Three

"Are we there, yet?"

Charizard stood up loudly and grunted, tossing its head to the side. Pikachu narrowed its eyes. "Kapika ka chu," Charizard won't take us, it said bluntly.

"Why not?" Ash asked.

Charizard glared at Ash. Ash realized that Charizard was probably mad at Pikachu for making him fall on his face. Frustrated, he recalled Charizard, then he turned to the water for a while before turning to face Misty.

"I guess you'll probably like this way better, anyway," he said, "but I've never asked Blastoise to do something like this. We're going to try to surf the whole way there."

"What? The whole way on one go?" Misty exclaimed.

"Yeah," he answered and unclipped Blastoise's pokéball from his belt. He loosened his grip on the pokéball to let it expand and then threw it down on the ground. It popped open and released the red mist before returning to Ash's hand. He clipped it back onto his belt and waited for it to form into his pokémon.

"Blast!" it announced when it was finished.

"Blastoise, this will be harder than what I have asked you to do before," Ash started, looking Blastoise in the eye.

"Oi!" it shouted, standing up.

"We need to get back to Palm Island. Do you remember it?"

"Bla?"

"The Coco Badge. Wait, that was a grass gym, so you didn't fight," Ash realized. "Do you remember the place where there were exeggutor everywhere?"

"Toise!" Blastoise confirmed and ran on all fours into the water. It turned around and beckoned Ash with its head.

"Alright!" Ash yelled and climbed on top of Blastoise. "You coming, Misty?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "Misty calls upon Gyridos!"

"Rrraaaaaahh!"

"Don't do-" Ash started.

Misty got on Gyridos, who loomed over Ash and Blastoise.

"-that," Ash finished.

"Da!" Gyridos grunted and Blastoise took off away from the island. Gyridos surfed slightly behind it to follow.

*************

Ash watched as wave after wave disappeared behind them, starting as a light blue-green and then disappearing into the navy depths when they were underneath.

Misty watched the approaching line of water in amazement as the sun turned it almost every shad from bright orange to a blackish blue, to an almost-clear blue with the sun directly overhead.

"Ka pi chu ka?" Are we there, yet? Pikachu asked for what must have been the millionth time in the last hour.

"Pikachu, we're still out in the middle of the water! What do you think?" Ash shouted, exasperated.

"At least Gyridos and Blastoise are still holding out!" Misty smiled happily from her perch behind Gyridos's head.

"Pichu ka chu pi pi?" How much further is it? Pikachu asked what must have been its second favorite phrase.

"We don't know any more than you do, Pikachu!" Ash finished the conversation again.

"Just be more patient, both of you!" Misty finally snapped. "If you think that you can, you could swim beside Blastoise and Gyridos."

"Ka!" No! Pikachu's eyes lit up and it flopped down on Blastoise, closing its eyes. It couldn't even keep up with a wild goldeen, let alone a blastoise or gyridos. Besides the fact that they were _trained_ and they were in even better shape than wild ones.

Misty grinned at Ash, "Did that help?"

Ash laughed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, thanks," he replied. "I think that it just bugs me more because I really want to get there faster, too."

"We'll be lucky if we can get there at all since Charizard won't take us," Misty replied. "Staryu and Starmie can surf fast, but not further than a few hundred meters."

"You're right," Ash said sadly. "Charizard and Pikachu. They're as stubborn as I am," he smirked.

"That's not _always_ a bad thing," Misty smirked herself.

"I hope not!" Ash replied.

"Look! I think I see an island up ahead!" Misty shouted and pointed to a pinprick dot of an island on the horizon.

"Pika?" Really? Pikachu jumped up excitedly, raising his paws over his eyes to see through the light.

"Woo hoo!" Ash shouted. "Blastoise, full speed ahead!" Ash continued, standing up and pointing ahead to the island.

"You too, Gyridos!" Misty yelled.

"Blast!"

"Geeeeerrrr!"

"Whoa!" Ash and Misty yelled at the sudden burst of speed.

"Pika!" Pikachu joined in as it tried to brace itself to Blastoise's smooth shell but flew up into Ash.

"Careful, Pikachu," Ash laughed as he caught Pikachu and leaned into the wind to keep his balance.

Misty laughed into the wind, loving surfing, especially at that speed, especially because the target that they were surfing for was only a few meters away.

They slowed down as they reached the dock. Pikachu jumped onto the dock and immediately used its agility to relieve its cramped muscles.

Ash walked off and smiled at Blastoise, who was starting to sink due to exhaustion. "Blastoise, return!" he called, holding out its pokéball. "I owe ya!"

Misty climbed off onto the dock and recalled Gyridos. "Take a rest, Gyridos! You deserve it!"

"Chu!" Ready! Pikachu smiled and stood in front of Ash, ears and tail twitching slightly.

"Alright!" Ash shouted excitedly. "Come on!" Ash ran toward the buildings, Pikachu in front of him, and Misty following behind.

*************

"How may I help you?" an older-looking lady asked as the three ran into the registration building.

"I came here before, and then participated in the Kanto League, so I need to get re-registered," Ash explained.

"You say that you participated here before you left? There have been a lot of people who stopped for the Kanto Pokémon League," she reminded him. "Let me scan your pokédex into the computer, and then you should be fine."

"Right," he nodded. He pulled his pokédex out of its handy compartment and handed it to her.

She clicked open the pokédex and then inserted it into a slot in front of the computer. After a few beeps, she verified it and typed in the security code. "All set!" she smiled. "Good luck, Ash!"

"Thanks!" he waved and then ran out of the building.

"Pika!" it copied his wave.

"Hey, Pikachu!" Ash called.

"Pika?" What?

"Race ya to the pokémon center?" he asked.

"What about me?" Misty asked.

"You couldn't catch us if your life depended on it!" he yelled and took off towards the center, Pikachu running behind.

"Chu!" Cheap! it cried and used its agility to beat them all to the center, Ash coming in after it. Misty ran in and tried to punch Ash, but right before it hit him, something soft and pink grabbed her fist.

"Chansey!" it scolded.

"This is a pokémon hospital!" Nurse Joy agreed. "There will be no violence allowed here!"

"O-oops. S-sorry," Misty laughed nervously. Ash laughed nervously as well, realizing how close he had come to getting his head punched in.

Nurse Joy returned to behind the counter. "Is there a reason why you are here? Or did you just come to cause trouble?"

"I'm sorry," Ash said as he recomposed himself. "I wanted you to look at my pokémon. Blastoise is the only one who I know needs it, though."

"Pika!" Yea! it shouted as it jumped onto the counter.

"All right," Nurse Joy put them on a tray, Pikachu sitting in the middle of it. "You can come back for them in about an hour."

"Okay," Ash and Misty agreed.

"You know what we have to do now," Ash suggested.

"What?" Misty asked curiously.

"Get something to eat!" Ash smirked while thrusting his fist into the air.

"Oh," Misty sighed. "I should have known."

*************

"That was fun," Ash smiled as he followed Misty out of the restaurant.

"Yep," she grinned. "It's fun to eat food that didn't come in a can every once in a while."

"No kidding," Ash agreed and then ran looked around for the pokémon center. "Uh…do you remember where the pokémon center is, Misty?"

"Ash!" Misty shouted. "I'm surprised you don't ever get lost in your own backyard!"

"Hey," Ash pouted. "I've never gotten lost in my backyard. My mom keeps it too neat for that."

Misty fell over in stupidity. "And if she didn't, you would!"

"Would not!"

But before they could get caught up in another argument, an older-looking lady dressed in a beige dress stepped out from behind a building. She had coffee-brown eyes and dusty brown hair. "Are you lost?" she asked in a voice that made you think that you had met her before.

"Maybe," Ash answered warily. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…" she replied. "I have something that might interest you, if you are, but if you know where you are going…"

"What's that?" Misty asked.

"A map," the lady answered. "It's a special map that my family created." She took a paper rolled up into a scroll out of her bag and handed it to Misty. "Here," she said. "Just in case." She winked and disappeared into the shadows.

"That…was weird," Ash said slowly.

"Yeah, but let's see what is special about this map," Misty said as she unrolled the paper.

"I don't like maps." Ash glared at the map.

Misty snickered, "We can tell."

Ash sighed and walked forward. "I guess so…"

"I don't know what is special about it," Misty started. "But the map _is_ of the city, so we shouldn't have a problem finding the pokémon center…"

*************

"We're here!" Ash shouted happily and started to run towards the pokémon center.

"Hold it!" Misty said and grabbed his collar. "I think that you have something to say, don't you?" She smirked.

Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you were right. The map was a help," Ash said and then looked at the building and back at Misty. "Can we go in, now?"

Misty pushed him forward. "Sure."

Ash raced up the steps and into the building.

Misty watched him disappear in the building and put the map away before following his lead and walking into it.

"Pika!" Pikachu chirped excitedly and hugged Ash.

"Glad to see you, too," Ash laughed.

"I could say the same," a girl's voice called from across the pokémon center, startling Ash and Misty both.

Misty frowned and then smiled when she realized who it was. Navy hair curled under her ears and her bangs copied that action above her eyebrows. She wore forest-green jeans and a grey T-shirt that read "Diving" in big red letters and had little black letters written over it that read "Palm."

"Hey, Lupusa," she greeted and turned to Ash.

"Hi," Ash said, suddenly annoyed.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Misty asked.

"Why did you drop out?" Ash growled. "Did you enjoy making me look like I was there by luck?"

She frowned. "No, that's not what I wanted for it to look like at all," Lupusa replied, a little offended by his accusations. "Maybe you'll find out some day," she said. "I wasn't allowed to advance past the semi-finals according to League rules."

"What? How is that fair? Why?" Misty asked, taken aback.

"All to be learned in time," Lupusa answered, "but not now. Let me guess. Ash wants to win this league, too."

"You don't have to be psychic to know that," Misty laughed.

"Nope," Ash said. *Especially if _Misty_ knows,* he thought and smiled to himself.

Lupusa giggled. "The next gym is on an island out that way," she said and pointed to straight out in front of the pokémon center.

"How did you know that I beat this one," Ash challenged. Then he thought about what he had said and corrected himself. "Wait. I know already," he smiled. "No fair." He realized why she had giggled, too. *That's annoying.*

"Yeah," Lupusa agreed.

The metal doors closed around the pokémon center. "It's curfew. I'm turning off the center lights. Go to sleep," Nurse Joy addressed them before disappearing behind the doors behind the counter. The lights promptly turned off and left them to find their way back to the couches.

"Chu!" Pikachu used flash and jumped onto one of the couches, lighting most of the room.

"Thanks, Pikachu!" Ash said and laid down on the couch that Pikachu was standing on.

Misty and Lupusa grinned at each other and set their sleeping bags up so that they faced each other on the one that fit in the corner and stretched both ways. As soon as Ash was ready, Pikachu ran over to light the area around Misty and Lupusa.

"Pika-cha!" Pikachu smiled at Lupusa.

"So, are you really a diver?" Misty asked.

"Yeah," Lupusa answered. "It's fun."

"My sisters and I dive," Misty suggested. "But if we mess up, we can't stop ourselves from slamming into the water and hurting ourselves."

"No," Lupusa frowned. "I can't really, either. They don't know that I'm psychic and it's best that it stays that way."

"I understand…"

Ash fell asleep hoping that they didn't get "caught up" and decide to play a prank on him while he was asleep.


	4. Lookin' for the Lagoon

I don't own pokémon! Nintendo, Kids WB, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc, do. All I own here is the plot for my fics and the characters for Lupusa, Casey, Michelle and Brooke, though, how can you own people? Oh, well…they're mine here.

Diving In! …To What?

By Ark9

Chapter Four

Lookin' for the Lagoon

Ash yawned and started to sit up but decided to look around first. Lucky for him, no snares had been laid around the center. He smiled and sat up the rest of the way and picked up Pikachu from his bag on the table in the middle.

One of the Chanseys came out from behind the counter and shouted, "Chan!" Pikachu woke up from that and blinked its eyes open. Upon seeing Ash, it smiled and hugged him.

Nurse Joy came out and starting singing, "Rise and Shine and open life's story (story). Rise and Shine and open life's story (story). RISE AND SHINE AND," she shouted and clapped once, "OPEN LIFE'S STORY, STORY, TRAINERS OF THE WORLD!"

Lupusa gave her a wry smile, having been plagued with the song before. But then she brightened up and the sight of Ash and Misty. They definitely were _not_ morning people at all.

Lupusa jumped up and called out a Meganium. "Synthesis!" she said brightly.

The Meganium reflected her smile and then closed its eyes happily. Golden star-like powder seemed to appear out of the air as the auto-heal attack gave the trainers the spirit to get started again.

Everyone looked around them to find their normal clothes on, and their sleeping bags as well as their other things back correctly in their bags.

Ash looked around in confusion and Pikachu did the same and then pointed to Misty who was smiling just as warmly as before.

"What?" Ash asked, realizing that he was the only one still looking. "Don't you want to know how that happened?"

Everyone laughed and Ash once again felt rather pitiful, but he knew asking, "What's going on?" would just make them laugh harder, so he just waited for them to calm down.

"Don't worry about it," Misty finally said and straightened up.

"Pika chu pi, Pikapi," You know who did, Ash Pikachu added and winked at Lupusa.

Ash laughed good-naturedly, too. 

"Okay, fun's over. I want to get a badge." He grinned in determination.

*************

"Are we all ready?" Ash asked as they stood on the shoreline of Palm Island.

"You bet!" Misty called. "Misty calls upon Gyaridos!"

"Blastoise, I choose you!"

"Make a splash, vaporeon!"

"Gggggoooooooaaaarrr!"

"Blastoise!"

"Vvooooowah?!"

Lupusa grinned mischievously at them for a second before purposefully blinking. In a bat of an eyelid, they were boarded onto their pokémon. 

Ash laughed as he regained his composure on top of Blastoise. "Do you _ever_ do things normally?"

Misty rolled her eyes and grumbled. "Why don't you just teleport us to the gym if you're just bubbling with energy?"

"Of all people to complain about surfing!" Lupusa retorted. "It's not very far. I forgot that you two just surfed here!"

In a few minutes, high ledges could be seen from the water. "Well, this is just great," Misty complained, dreading having to climb those ledges.

To Ash and Misty's surprise, a light blue blur shot out from the landmass to great them. It showed no sign of slowing down until it came to a sudden stop, the figure standing beside Lupusa.  
  
The new girl also rode a strong-looking vaporeon. Her hair was a slightly darker shade of blue that fell a few inches past her shoulders. Her sea-green eyes were a contrast to Lupusa's dark purple, but her slate-colored T-shirt and jeans seems to be modeled in a similar fashion, with the word "swimming" in place of "diving."

Misty looked back and forth between the two. "Are you two twins?" she asked cautiously. "Or just sisters?" _'Of course they couldn't just be sisters, because they are about the same age, but they look so much alike…'_

They simultaneously looked at each other and burst out laughing. It couldn't be helped noticing that the unusual laugh that they had noticed from Lupusa seemed to be copied by Brooke.

Lupusa explained. "No, we're not related at all! We only met a few weeks ago when I was here training!"

"You're not the first, though," Brooke continued. "Many of my junior trainers thought so, too."

"Oh," Ash and Misty said in surprise.

"So," Brooke said, decisively. "Are these some friends of yours that you wanted me to meet?"

"Well, yes and no. They are friends of mine, but we're here because Ash wants to battle you for a badge."

"Okay," Brooke nodded. "Let's go, then."

*************

The match was about to begin. If you looked around, you would have realized that the gym was really only a cave that had been formed by water-erosion. Rocks rose up along the whole entrance, holding in the water. It was unusual, but that's where Brooke chose to place it, and that's what mattered.

"This is an official match for the Lagoon badge. The challenger, Ash, has chosen Pikachu, while the gymleader, Brooke, has chosen her vaporeon. No time limit. Let the battle begin!"

"Vappy, Acid Armor!" Brooke spit out before anyone could make a move.

"Pikachu thunderbolt!" Ash grinned, thinking that he had won because of types.

"Vui!"

"Piii…kaaaa….CHU!" it shouted and thunderbolted the water.

"Pooorr!" it laughed.

"Agility!" both trainers shouted.

"Pi!"

"On!"

"Haze, then mist," Brooke said gently.

Suddenly the whole area filled with a white fog. Sure, it healed any status problem, but where was vaporeon?

"Pikachu, use light screen!"

"Cha!" Pikachu shouted as it created an electric bubble around itself, creating the same effect as the vaporeon's mist would.

For those who could see vaporeon, they would have seen a very content and relaxed looking blue pokémon, spurting out what looked like a cloud.

"Double team."

Pikachu nodded and soon there were about thirty copies of Pikachu forming a ring around vaporeon. Vaporeon looked at one and then the other, trying to see if one looked more solid than the rest. No. They _all_ looked transparent.

The real Pikachu was using its agility to search out vaporeon. It moved so fast that even Ash couldn't see it. There vaporeon is! …uh, _was_. Now the chase begins.

Vaporeon tried tackling Pikachu after Pikachu with no avail. Pikachu, in the mean time, followed it and charged up for the thunderbolt that it meant to use earlier.

"Vappy! Look out!"

"CCCCHHHUUUU!!"

"Vvvvaaavavav!" it cried as it was launched into the wall with such a strong electric force. It fell down the wall. One Pikachu stood in front of it. Sparks crackled from its cheeks.

"Vaporeon can no longer battle! The match goes to Ash and his Pikachu!"

"Yea! Great job, Pikachu!" Ash yelled as he caught his excited pokémon.

"I guess you earned it, Ash," Brooke said as she cradled her burnt-looking vaporeon in her arms, its eyes now partially open. "Here's the Lagoon badge."

"Thanks!" Ash said, Pikachu climbing up onto his head.

"I'll come back in a few days to visit," Lupusa said, trying to avoid certain begging to stay.

"Aww," Brooke whined and dropped her head. Then she stood up straight again and smirked. "You better come back 'cause I _can't_ leave and I want to talk to you!"

"You've got it," Lupusa smiled and then faced Ash and Misty, who were looking uncertainly out at the water. She soon realized why.

Storm clouds were gathering tight in the sky, almost completely blocking out the sun. Soon it started to pour.

"Pi…" Pikachu cooed, sparks flying on contact with every raindrop.

"I guess Nurse Joy's the one who's going to be annoyed with me this time," Lupusa sighed. "Bye, Brooke! See ya!"

"Bye!" she called. "Congratulations on your first face badge…" She faded away as the world smudged together.

When it became in focus, they were in a Pokémon Center.

"Haven't you three ever heard of doors?" Nurse Joy scolded. "Using psychic energy confuses the pokémon here!"

*BBOOOOMM!* The storm raged on outside.

"Well…" Misty tried to think of something.

"As you can see, it is _storming_ outside!" Lupusa recovered, matter-of-factly. "We were on the other side of the island in the gym, which is right next to the water, despite the fact that we would have to surf to get here. I think that it was better to teleport here than to risk dying of electrocution, don't you?"

"Hm," Nurse Joy said thoughtfully. "This time, you are right. Sorry I yelled at you, but it is important that I do everything that I can to keep the pokémon here in the center in the best possible condition. Do you have any pokémon that you want me to look at?"

"Just Pikachu and Blastoise," Ash responded for himself.

  
"I want my Gyaridos healed, too," Misty conceded and placed her pokéball by Ash's on the counter.

"How about you, miss?"

"Vaporeon could use a rest," she decided. "That's all."

"Okay, you may wait in the lobby until your pokémon are ready," Nurse Joy smiled and carried the tray through the double-doors behind the counter.

Ash, Misty and Lupusa walked across the room to where a table with four chairs was set up. Lupusa practically pounced on one of the two farther ones, while Ash and Misty took their seats, sweat-dropping at Lupusa's actions.

"What was Brooke talking about?" Ash asked. "I thought that the badge was the Lagoon Badge, not the Face Badge."

"Hm?" Lupusa looked across the table at him. "Oh! Well, that's because it isn't the Face Badge. I think what she was referring to is the middle gyms. You really are new here, aren't you? Oh, well."

"The middle gyms?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, they all use eevee evolutions. See, Brooke uses the vaporeon you saw today. She has others, but that is all she uses for gym battles. Actually, you will only get one pokémon for the next four, too."

"So…"Ash thought, "the next gym is the Orange Badge, so I'll have to battle a flareon?"

"Yep," Lupusa nodded.

"But that doesn't explain why she called it a face badge," Misty said. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Because the middle gyms are all in a row, and they all use eevee evelutions, they named themselves the 'Faces of the Eevee,'" Lupusa explained.

"That's cool," Misty said.


	5. author's note

**If you want these to continue, review. **(If you review, there is little need to read the rest of this.)

All right, I know you're not _technically_ supposed to upload author's notes as chapters, but this will be taken down eventually. I haven't decided how long yet.

I started these stories several years ago when I really loved pokemon, but then I moved, lost my disk on which these stories were saved, and never decided to try to rewrite them. About a year ago, I found the disk and uploaded a chapter that I had already written just to see what the response was. The groups of people had changed and my author buddies had moved on to more mature programs (like me, I suppose) and it didn't seem like there was any reason to finish them where I had left off before.

So, since I have gotten a few reviews out of nowhere lately and I seem to have new people that like my writing, I'm considering rewriting everything. If anyone wants anything to continue, say so; otherwise, don't look for these to be finished.


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